Nadal Survives Zverev In Indian Wells

On Tuesday, Rafael Nadal called Sascha Zverev “a future No. 1.” But a day later, the Spaniard showed that in the present, he still rules.

No. 4 seed Nadal saved a match point in overcoming the 18-year-old German 6-7(8), 6-0, 7-5 in the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open on Wednesday, winning the final 15 points. The three-time Indian Wells champion (2007, 2009 and 2013) still has a chance to reach his 100^th tour-level final (67-32).

“A great victory, as I said before. I’m very happy about it,” Nadal said. “I am especially happy about the mentality on court, the spirit of fight during the whole match, believing that I can win a match during the whole time even in the tougher situations.”

Zverev had a chance to become the youngest man to make the Indian Wells quarter-finals since Michael Chang and Andre Agassi in 1989. Serving at 5-4 in the deciding set, he was a point away from notching his biggest career win. But on match point, Zverev missed a forehand volley.

“I missed probably the easiest shot I had the whole match,” he said.

The miscue took a heavy toll on Zverev, who seemed to lose his spark after letting slip the opportunity to claim his first Top 10 victory.

“It was a great match. Rafa did what he does best; he was fighting. He’s known for that,” Zverev said. “I still had chances to win. I had an easy shot at match point and I missed it. I’m out and he’s in the quarter-finals.”